You're really not the best duelist Yu-Gi-Oh! It has to offer.

There is no doubt that the original protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series, Yugi Muto, was one of the best duelists of his time. His time as King of Games is legendary, and his greatest achievements are still remembered fondly by fans of the franchise. Few players can claim to have challenged Yugi and won the encounter.

However, when his playing style and deckbuilding strategies are analyzed from a distance, his legendary status begins to be questioned. Although he is undoubtedly one of the best protagonists in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, he has many flaws this would cost him his title outside of the anime. There's another equally beloved character who could rival Yugi's prowess if they dueled in real life: Jaden Yuki.

Yugi is a great duelist, but only in the anime

Most of his victories depended on the powers of his millennium item

Throughout the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime, fans got to see the titular protagonist defeat the best and most powerful duelists in his world. His best and most iconic cards have become iconic, with his signature Dark Magician being used as the face of the franchise even decades after its first appearance. However, there are many hidden hints in the series that point to Yugi's career not being as successful as fans used to believe. For example, many of his most important duels during the Duelist Kingdom arc of the series were just accomplished by drastic leaps in logic.

Strategies such as destroying his lunar spell card or summoning an infinite number of Kurboh tokens have earned Yugi a reputation as a cheater among fans. Still, his more glaring problems as a duelist can be better seen later in the series, as your lack of deck-building skills. Yugi's deck would never be viable in the real version of the game, as it has no consistency whatsoever. Most of his most powerful cards are high-level, difficult-to-summon creatures, which would make it difficult for him to purchase useful tools.

Worst of all, your decision to only include a single copy of any card would prevent you from seeing the monster, spell, or trap you need at any given time. The only reason he was able to win his duels was thanks to the power of your puzzleRanked by many as the most powerful Millennium Item. The special ability of this treasure allowed the user to obtain a card that would be useful if they lost a game. Without him, Yugi's horrible deckbuilding would have cost him his title long ago.

Jaden's decks are much more consistent and coherent than Yugi's

Jaden's Hero Deck is still being played today

Although often underestimated by fans of the series Yu-Gi-Oh! GxJaden Yuki has proven time and time again that his abilities could help him defeat Yugi in a duel without magic involved. To begin with, your deck building decisions are much better. Knowing that his deck was based on summoning Fusion Monsters, he made sure to include as many different combinations of Elemental Heroes as possible. The theme of his strategy also helps a lot, as mainly including monsters that belong to a simple archetype allowed him to access the vast support for his creatures.

Although Jaden picked up some of Yugi's bad habits, such as adding extremely situational cards to his deck, he did a much better job preparing contingencies. The impact of the Hero archetype It is such that it is one of the few anime decks that has seen competitive success in real life. If he and Yugi were ever faced with a duel without magic or plot conveniences, there would be little chance of the King of Games emerging victorious. Unfortunately, the series never revealed the outcome of Yugi and Jaden's only duel, leaving the debate open.

Despite Jadenmore advanced deck-building abilities, there's no denying that both he and Yugi they are beloved characters that fans admire. His duels and adventures are iconic to the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and there is no doubt that the series' followers will continue to applaud them and praise their beloved monsters.